The Emperor Protects
by Random guardsman
Summary: Most Warhammer fanfics are about either space Marines or Death Korps so I thought I would write one about a lesser know guard regiment.
1. A new beginning

Hello again.

While I was making the next chapter I described to rewrite this one while taking advice from all the reviews.

If there's is still something you think is wrong and can be done better let me know.

Rwby and Warhammer 40k are owned by there respective companies (RoosterTeath and Games Workshop)

With that out of the way, I hope this is better than the last attempt.

————

The trench was full of muffled curses and the clang of flak armour plates bashing into each other.

As crowded as the trench was yet more guardsmen filed into the trench while a priest was yelling prayer over the sound of combat.

Estrus was a veteran. He had to have performed many great deeds in Emperor's name to end up in the platoon commanders personal retinue.

He had been a medical orderly before his promotion and had personally saved the officers life.

The junior officer looked down at his watch. It was nearly time.

The commander held his hand for silence and gradually all the sound in the trench died, save the sound of incoming fire.

As he held his first in the air and the guardsmen made themselves ready themselves to go over the top.

"Charge in the name of the Emperor" The platoon commander yelled through the crackle of lasfire. The wave of metal faces rushed forwards towards the enemy.

The Maccabian lines charged forwards disregarding their own casualties. They would all end up martyrs in the end as the great saint did.

Field medic Estrus of the 3rd platoon was at the head of the charge. His bolter was strapped over his back but his power sword faced the enemy, ready to take blood in the Emperor's name.

He stumbled slightly as he took a stubber round to the arm but it did not stop him in all his fanatic fury as he continued to hurl himself towards the heretics.

He only fell when a heretic removed most of his legs with a plasma weapon. He fell and his vision slowly faded as he was trampled by those who charged behind him. Blood was slowly filling up his mask.

The last thing he saw was the banner of the 64th Maccabian Janissaries fluttering in the breeze overhead.

He died content knowing he served his Emperor well.

—-

"Um.. hello?" He heard a voice childlike voice say.

"M-my liege?" He asked, his voice stuttering and course.

"What?" The voice said in surprise.

He tried to open his eyes but the light momentarily blinded him. Slowly he regained his vision and he realised he was not on an ethereal plane, but a forest of some kind.

His vision was suddenly blocked by a girl. She had black, red hair and looked a few years younger than himself. She looked at him with an inquisitive smile.

"What are doing sleeping in the forest?" she asked curiously.

"Where am I?" Estrus asked groggily.

"Duh... It's the Emerald forest, " The girl replied "How do you fall asleep out here with knowing where you are? Are you drunk?"

Suddenly all his memories returned to him. The battle, The charge and most importantly his death.

"No no no!" he yelled half crying on the inside.

"What?" Queried the red person

"I should be dead!" He yelled at her. "I give my life for you and this is what you do!" He said, continuing his rant at the sky. "Do you not want me dead?"

"Well, that's a strange reaction."

"Where is this?" Estrus asked

"I told you, The forest"

"No, the planet"

"Strange question" she replied "Remnant"

"Never heard of it. What segmentum?"

He was returned a look of confusion. "Segmentum?"

He got to his feet, dusted himself off. Estrus made weapons check, his laspistol was in its holster, his boltgun and pack where still on his back but his sword and sheath were missing.

"I assume this is yours," she said, holding out the power sword in its sheath. "Found it in the bushes over there, you seem to like old fashioned weapons. Like Janus."

Estrus pulled it out of its scabbard and click the on button. It stated shining blue and crackled as arcs of electricity zapped along it.

"Whoa..." The girl said in amazement "I didn't know it could do that, what happens if you…Oww." The power weapon had given a high voltage shock when she put her hand to close.

"Does it have a name?" She asked as she shook her hand trying to get rid of the feeling.

"What purpose does a name serve for a weapon?" He asked. Although he knew a few people named their weapons he saw no purpose to the practice.

"So no?" She stopped thoughtfully for a minute or so "How about electro-blade. Or maybe the Shocker."

This day had started strangely. Estrus had died, ended up on a different planet and now a girl was quite persistent on the fact that he named his sword.

"Do you have a name?" Estrus asked, trying to direct attention away from the power sword she seemed to obsess over.

"What?"

"Do YOU have a name?"

"Oh, My name is Ruby rose" She replied cheerfully. "And this is Crescent Rose," The girl said as she pulled out a ridiculously sized scythe.

"What… How?"

Estrus stepped back in shock pulling the laspistol out of its holster at the girl. What kind of witchcraft would allow anyone to wield something of the size?

"Are you a witch?"

"No, why do you say that?"

"How do you hold that!" He asked nervously, the laspistol shaking in his hands.

"What? This little thing?" The Scythe was far from little. It was bigger than her. "My uncle taught me how to use it. Nice gun. What does it shoot? Does it have a name?"

"Stop asking questions!" He yelled. Ruby was shocked by the sudden outburst. Although she could not see his face he was clearly annoyed. "Where can I get the next shuttle off-world?

"You mean space? Did you come from another planet? Are you an alien?"

He stepped forward putting the laspistol up to her eye level. "You will not compare a servant of the Emperor to any foul Xenos!" He yelled," But yes I am from off-world." he said a much calmer tone but not taking the pistol down.

"Sorry, you might be waiting for a while."

"So this is a world that has no access to space travel?

She paused thoughtfully for a second, "Yep."

The laspistol dropped slightly. "By the throne."

"Welcome to Remnant, I'll be your guide." She said cheerfully without any grasp of the situation.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"Well, Ozpin might be able to help you." She replied with a frown crossing her face.

"Is he the governor of this world?" Estrus questioned.

"No, he is the principal of a school." Ruby replied.

He let out a shallow sigh. "How does a school teacher help me."

"If anyone can help you, it'll be him." For the first time, she actually looked serious.

He carefully weighed up his options. Accept help from Ruby or stay on square one. She seemed human enough to be trusted but if she was a heretic Estrus wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Reluctantly, he holstered the laspistol.

"Fine, lead the way but if you betray my trust I will not hesitate to kill you." Estrus replied.

Ruby sped off faster than he thought possible leaving a trail of rose petals behind.

Don't see that every day he thought to himself but it didn't look like witchcraft. Once again he pondered the possibility of terminating her and finding his own way.

He concluded that it would mean to much time wasted when there was a clear shortcut. Promptly he marched after her.

————

"So you're from a different dimension?" Ozpin asked

"No" Estrus responded "Just a different planet."

"That should make things easier"

"Yes," Estrus said, "You don't need to explain breathing to me."

The metallic mask concealing the man's face left him unsure if he was just terrible at humour or mocking him.

"I have a small request," Estrus said.

Ozpin raised his eyebrows and peered over his glasses.

"Do you have a star map by any chance?" The guardsman asked. "I only wish to know where I am." He continued, struggling after Ozpin shot him a suspicious glance.

He thought about the request. Either he might be trying to give his location to a friend to get him out of here, or he was telling the truth. A space-age civilisation knowing of Remnants existence might mean that its independence wouldn't last much longer.

Little did he know that Esteus had no form of long-range communication.

Reluctantly, Ozpin made a motion with his hand and a hologram of the milky way lit up his desk.

Estrus looked at the map. Remnant was on the absolute fringe of the galaxy. No wonder nobody knew of its existence.

He looked back towards the segmentum solar and started naming planets.

"Valhalla, Mordian, Krieg, Holy Terra..." He went on making the symbol of the Aquila at the name of the blessed planet.

"Armageddon, Catachan, the eye of terra, Maccabeus and the place of my death."

"Can you give any explanation for you "death" but not death?" Ozpin

"I believe the Emperor is not done with me yet," Estrus said in a monotone voice that betrayed no emotion.

"He still has a purpose for me."

"And who is this Emperor character?"

Estrus was in felt a mix of horror and shock. A world in the outer rim of the galaxy that had no knowledge of his beloved Emperor or the power that he had! He made a mental note to change that.

"The Emperor is the god of humanity." He went on evoking the symbol of the Aquila, "He resides on the golden throne

on holy terra, he is the ruler of the Imperium of mankind, an empire that spans the whole galaxy."

"How old are you?"

It was an odd question if you regarded the previous one.

"18 in another 7 Sol months" he replied, confusion creeping into his voice.

"Can you take off your helmet?" Ozpin asked

He complied taking off his helmet. Estrus was a young man, pale skin, short unkempt hair and a (mostly) clean-shaven face.

What took Ozpin by surprise was his eyes.

They were silver.

Not the same bright shining silver like Ruby's. They were dark but still silver. Ozpin knew that this man had seen things. He refrained from mentioning that fact even though the boy almost certainly didn't know what it meant on Remnant.

Ozpin thought to himself for a moment before speaking.

"You see Estrus, that is your name?" The guardsmen nodded in confirmation as Ozpin continued "I am headmaster at this school"

"I have been told"

"Here a beacon, we train students to become defenders of this world. As it seems you are stuck here on Remnant, why don't you enrol in Beacon?"

Estrus thought about it. He had left his homeworld to protect people and smite enemies of the emperor. Was he going to give that up just because he was stuck here?

"I have one condition" he replied, "I require 10 standard planetary minutes set aside for prayer."

"These are agreeable terms." He replied after a little pondering. "Miss Goodwitch is outside, she will take to a temporary dorm."

With that, the guardsmen replaced his helmet and started walking towards the door.

"One more thing," Ozpin said.

He looked back, not stopping walking.

"Try not converting any of the students"

"No promises" Estrus replied as he closed the door.

————

"Ozpin said to give this to you," Goodwitch said as she passed Estrus a scroll.

He looked at it, his confused face hidden by his death mask.

He knew it was a cogitator of some form but how to use it was far beyond him.

"Here you go." He looked up from the device.

She waved the scroll in front of the door and it unlocked.

So its a key Estrus thought to himself.

The dorm was well above Imperial Barack standard.

It was well furnished with a bed, dresser and a bathroom.

"One of the students will show you around Beacon. I will also meet you here at 9:10 am to put you through the initiation exam" she went on.

"That gives you your 10 minutes for your... whatever you do."

"Understood" the guardsman replied.

With that Goodwitch turned and left.

Estrus found himself left in a room, alone with no orders to follow. It was a strange feeling, like a hole in his life. He put his backpack on his bed and reviewed the contents.

In it was his trench knife, corpse starch rations, a mechanical arm, an inactive servo-skull and enough meds to last a lifetime. He then sat down on his new bed and tasked himself with the chore of cleaning his boltgun.

————

A knock was heard at the door.

Estrus stopped reading the uplifting primer and placed it face down on his bed to save the page. It was Ruby was standing outside.

"Hello again, I was told you were spending some time at Beacon." Ruby said excitedly "I'm heading down to the forge to tune up crescent rose. Do you need to modify anything"

"No, that would be tech-heresy," He said bluntly "but a few bolter rounds wouldn't go amiss."

Estrus hung his bolter over his shoulder and followed the girl down the hall to the forge.

"Do your rounds contain any form of dust?" Ruby asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I haven't a clue what that is."

"Dust is like a power source and can also be used as a weapon. There are a few different kinds of dust that act differently" Ruby replied

"Sounds useful"

"It is, and this..." She said pointing in a room "is the forge, so let's get to work."

————

After some initial difficulty with the strange tools in the forge, Estrus managed to fabricate another clip of bolter ammunition. It was quite a hack job and most likely would miss fire when shot.

He continued to create a grenade. The case, detonator and primer where easy, but finding a suitable explosive was harder.

Eventually, he settled for some ice dust. If it failed, well at least he tried.

He clipped the grenade on to his belt and put the bolter magazine in his left pocket.

"Are you done?" said Ruby, who had finished a while ago and as now sitting on a bench.

"The task is completed."

"Well it's about time, I'm heading down to the canteen" Ruby hopped down from the bench and headed towards the door. Estrus turned to follow but faltered.

"You coming?" She asked.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea," Estrus said staring towards the floor.

"Why? Are you afraid of people seeing your face! Is that why you wear a mask?"

"To tell the truth, yes that's maybe part of it," Estrus replied seeing there was no point lying.

"I don't think people are that judgemental, except for Cardin" Ruby replied, "but he's a bully so he doesn't count."

Estrus exhaled slightly. "Fine, I'll go.." He said defeated "but I'll go, but I still don't think it's a good idea."

————

The dining hall was massive. Not as big as in a Galaxy-class troopship but still bigger than he expected in a school.

"Come on, the buffet is over here," said Ruby as she tried to drag Estrus towards the food.

"No offence, but I might stay away from your food for a while." The guardsmen said shyly, "I packed my own."

"Oh, Come on!" Ruby half shouted startling some of the other students.

After some convincing Estrus agreed to try the leg of a cooked bird known as "chicken" and a circular object simply called "cookie."

"Come to our table, I'm sure everyone would like to meet you," Said Ruby before stuffing multiple "cookie" in her mouth.

As Ruby led Estrus towards the designated table, he got quite a few stares from other students.

After all, a man in silver flak

armour with his face hidden behind his death mask was not an everyday sight.

"Estrus, meet Yang, Blake and Weiss." Ruby said, "Team, this is Estrus, he's new."

"The Emperor protects," Estrus said in greeting, forgetting these people had no knowledge of Imperial culture.

"Umm... Hi?" Replied Yang

He internally facepalmed as he made the connection.

"I apologize, I'm not so... knowledgeable about local customs. I'm not from around here"

"Are you from one of the other kingdoms as an exchange student?" The one Ruby called Weiss asked.

"No, I hail from the shrine world of Maccabeus within the Imperium of mankind."

"Wait, there are people on other planets?" Yang asked.

"The Imperium controls an estimated 94% of the known galaxy." Replied Estrus with a small rush of patriotic pride.

"Hey," said ruby while chewing a cookie, "Eat first, talk later"

None of the others could argue with that logic and went back to eating save Estrus who sat down and stared at his food.

His steel mask was concealing the conflict that was fighting within him. He eventually gave in. His helmet made a slight pop as it came off and he put it underneath the bench.

He picked up the chicken leg and took a bite. The taste took him by surprise. He had expected the starchy, bland textures that he had familiarised himself with at the guard academy.

Instead, it was juicy and tender, almost like a grox.

He quickly took another bite, almost like someone was about to try and take it.

"Told you it was good!" Ruby said in the "I told you so" voice.

"Mhh," He said cheerfully in agreement through his mouthful.

Blake looked at Estrus and saw something.

"Your eyes..."

The cheerful look saw sapped from his face and replaced with a mix of sadness and shame.

"There silver."

Estrus stared down at the half-eaten chicken leg. He felt like it was now mocking him.

"I apologize."

The sentence hit Ruby like a bucket of icy water. He was apologizing for have the same colour eyes as her, although he hadn't seemed to of worked that out.

"I am impure. I am worthy of no pity and only hate. I live knowing that I can never be a true human." The words the guardsmen said we're more depressing than his last.

Yang elbowed Blake in the ribs. She was given the expression of utter confusion.

"Hey... Uh, Estrus." Blake said trying to get his attention. "I wasn't trying to insult you."

"No, It is my fault for carrying my family's tainted genes."

"I don't think it's a problem." Yang stated, "Ruby has got silver eyes to."

Estrus look at the red girl and for the first time realised her eye where in fact silver too.

"How do you live so happily knowing you carry a taint?"

Ruby looked at his faded silver eyes. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

He reached underneath the bench for his helmet and fitted it on his head. The face that was not his own, that wept a single silver tear.

Ruby felt like the mask concealed more than one.

The guardsmen stood up holding the cookie, straightened his back and left.

"I'm pretty sure Blake just made a grown man cry." Stated Yang.

————

The guardsmen took off his helmet.

Estrus looked at the mirror and wiped the tears from his face. His eyes were the same faded silver as his flak armour.

He broke eye contact with the face that brought him shame and went and sat down on his bed.

He picked up the infantryman's uplifting primer from where he left it on the bed and flicked to the prayer section, kneeled and read a passage aloud.

"Love the Emperor.

For he is the salvation of mankind.

Obey His words.

For he will lead you into the light of the future.

Heed His wisdom.

For he will protect you from evil.

Whisper His prayers with devotion. For they will save your soul.

Honour His servants.

For they speak in His voice

Tremble before His majesty.

For we all walk in His immortal shadow."

He placed his helmet on his dresser and turned off the light.

He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.

The whole time he didn't see that figure, dressed in black and perched on his window sill.

————

Team Ruby, Yang and Weiss where iI their dorm when blake entered through the window.

"Is he okay?" Yang asked.

"He sat down, did something weird with a book and then cried himself to sleep"

"Good work blake," Weiss commented. "The one time you open your mouth and you make a someone cry."

"I don't think she was trying to," Yang said.

The argument continued between the three but none of them seemed to notice ruby sitting on her bed.

She of all people was affected the most. The words Estrus had spoken had cut deep.

Ruby had never thought of her eye colour as a bad thing but Estrus seemed to be completely appalled by his own.

Was it really a taint?

————

The alarm on Estrus's data slate was going off. It had set itself to local time a now read 8:21. He was a full minute behind schedule.

He knelt in front of a makeshift shrine he made and found safety in the familiar prayer of the imperial creed.

He decided against eating in the cafeteria and retrieved a bowl of something called "Pumpkin-Pete."

It tasted a lot better than repurposed human corpse although it was extremely crunchy. He noted the food on this planet was much better in general.

After finishing he returned to sitting on his bed. Yet again he found the emptiness that came with having no orders.

After silently thinking he looked at his data-slate which now read 8:52. A knock was heard at the door, Goodwitch was early. He reattached his helmet and opened the door.

Outside was the yellow girl, Yang.

"Oh. It's you."

"Yep, just me." She replied, "were you expecting someone else?"

He hesitated for a moment unsure if he should continue. What implications would arise from telling her? She would find out anyway and seemed harmless enough.

"I'm waiting for someone to retrieve me for the entrance exam," Estrus replied.

"So you not just passing through?"

"It would seem not." He paused, "Do you have any reason for knocking on my door or just pleasantries?"

She looked at him for a good minute before answering.

"Your not really from another planet are you?" She asked.

"On the contrary, I stated that I was from the shrine world Maccabeus." He continued, "It is a shrine-world further towards the centre of the Galaxy."

"What's a shrine world" Yang seemed to be quite interested in the imperial cause and might even convert with some persecution.

"It is a whole planet dedicated to a religious cause. On my homeworld, a general called Drusus died and came back from the grave as a saint."

At that moment miss Goodwitch decided to walk around the corner.

"Estrus, can you come with me?" she asked.

"Talk later then," said Yang as she ran off like she was about to get in trouble. Maybe the students weren't supposed to talk to him now.

Estrus followed Goodwitch down the hall.

"Ozpin said not to convert any students." She commented, more in annoyance than anger.

"She asked" was his best defence he could come up with.


	2. Initiation

Another chapter is done. Any feedback you could give is much appreciated. I hope to make future chapters better based on the feedback.

Rwby and Warhammer 40K are not mine and belong to Games Workshop and Roosterteath.

Hope you enjoy.

\--

"So just for confirmation," Estrus said, " you're going to throw me into a forest to retrieve an artifact in a temple."

"Correct." Ozpin replied

"With no grav-chute?"

"If you are to learn here, you'll need to know how to make an "improvised" landing" Ozpin continued. It was clear he meant business.

Estrus nodded, "Understood sir"

"Miss Goodwitch, if you will." She came forward and passed Estrus a neatly folded paper map.

"When you're ready, stand on one of the tiles."

He moved on top of a tile as he whispered a silent prayer. To his surprise, the tile sprung up and he was thrown towards the forest.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Goodwitch asked as Estrus flew into the distance, "His aura wasn't active. Perhaps Pyrrha could have helped him, like Jaune."

Ozpin turned to look at her. "We both know it won't be any different," he replied.

He turned back towards the forest to see a small figure breakthrough

the treeline.

"He's not slowing down" Goodwitch reported casually.

She continued watching his descent towards the ground. He hit it full force.

Her eyes widened

"He... He..."

————

He had broken one of his legs.

The bone had come through the skin and was bleeding profusely. Estrus pushed the bone back in place.

He winced in pain. The action was concealed by the calm metal face that covered his own.

Ignoring the pain he scrambled through his bag for a med-pack and various other drugs.

He found what he was looking for and the injector came down on his leg, releasing a dose of stimm into his bloodstream.

He haphazardly discarded the injector and continued to busy himself with the med-pack.

If he treated the injury properly he would be able to walk on it, although he would need the stimm to not feel the pain.

The stimm had done its job, the pain had stopped now. He moved the bone into its proper position and bandaged the wound.

The next step was a cast substitute. He pulled out a metal splint and bound it to his leg. The tested it slightly to see if it would hold his weight. He regained feet and cocked his boltgun before injected a dose of slaught.

The world around him suddenly become brighter, more colourful. His hearing also improved with the dose of the drug. He looked over a map miss Goodwitch had given him.

This artifact was some 600 meters west of him. He used his field compass to get his bearings and marched off.

————

Estrus had made his first kill.

Thanks to the slaughter he had taken, he had heard the Grimm approaching long before he saw it.

The bolt round passed through its eye socket, the bolt then detonated tearing the Grimm's head apart from the inside out.

The satisfaction was increased as Estrus found out that Grimm bleed. He was hoping for the satisfaction of the splash of blood that traitors of Xenos give when the bolt round went off, and he had received. And if it bleeds, I can kill it, he thought to himself.

Another three rounds left the magazine and two more Grimm hit the floor.

One of the rounds made a clean puncture through bone like structure on its face. The round went off and removed it from existence.

The second went through one of its ribs. The following destination was contained within its ribcage. The shrapnel of the bolt round cut its insides to ribbons.

The other Grimm was hit in the foot bringing it to the ground. After a short encounter with a trench knife and it was no more.

He heard one trying to sneak up on him. Without looking, Estrus drew his laspistol and filled the bush behind him with lasfire.

A yelp and then silence let Estrus know he hit his mark.

He started to run towards the temple as it wasn't that far now. Although it wasn't doing any favours for his leg, he needed to be done before the stimm wore off.

Another Grimm fell before the temple came into sight.

Its head was cut off in the bushes, courtesy of his power sword.

There were 8 small podiums all with nothing on them, save for one.

He looked at the object. It was small and wooden and clearly quite new, although what it's used was beyond him. He grabbed it and stuffed it in his pack with various other drugs and equipment.

He started to walk towards the second position when a Grimm tackled him.

The Grimm continued clawing at him through it caused some dents but Estrus was left uninjured.

He put a grenade its mouth, pulled the pin and pushed it away.

It detonated sending bits of Grimm all over the place.

Estrus stumbled as he trying to getting his footing while his ears were still ringing. It was only made worse by the slaughter increasing his hearing.

He continued trudging up the hill. He looked at his flak armour. There were dents all over it and in some places the armour was pierced.

Repairing it would be a nightmare. It was a job the cogboys would usually attend to. He would have to at least try.

As the effect of the slaughter wore of the colours around him returned to normal and his hearing dulled.

The next area marked on the map was just up ahead.,

Through the ringing of his ears, he made out the sound of an aircraft or bullhead as Ozpin had called them.

The aircraft landed a few meters in front of him. Goodwitch was standing inside

He walked over and sat down on the aircraft door, his legs hanging out.

He looked over the area around the bullhead scanning for any further contacts.

Finally satisfied they were no further hostiles, he stood up and gave the formal military salute.

"Objective completed, no casualties were taken, Minor injury sustained" Estrus reported, using the same monotone voice he used at most debriefings.

She raised an eyebrow. "While your landing strategy was... unusual, you passed."

Estrus sat down on the bench on the side of the bullhead.

The bullheads where strange compared to the familiar valkyrie transport he was used to.

There were no belts or harnesses inside the bullhead, leaving a feeling of uncertainty to someone who was used to them.

It could probably come down to the fact that the bullheads top speed was about a third of a Valkyrie but it still felt more dangerous.

————

The bullhead landed smoothly. Estrus prepared for more possible targets. Although miss Goodwitch had said he passed he felt as though the trial was to short. Sometimes at the guard academy, the officer would say the task was over before presenting another target, trying to catch you off guard.

"If you'll follow me." Goodwitch said as she hopped off the side of the transport. Estrus followed still cautiously scanning the environment. There was a statue of the hunters triumphing over a Grimm that created a perfect hiding spot.

"The task is over." She said noticing how twitching he was, "Please unload your weapon before you shoot someone."

He removed the boltgun magazine and put it into his pack. From experience, when the officer told you to unload they were always serious.

The pair walked through the front doors of Beacon and walked towards the elevator that led to Ozpin's office. Estrus got quite a few stares from the other students. After all, the man dressed in the silver armour hadn't gotten old overnight. He wouldn't be surprised if one of them took a photo.

The door opened to reveal Ozpin's office. It was built into the central clock tower of beacon and the mechanism was clearly visible on the ceiling.

"Welcome." Ozpin said while peering over his glasses, "Please sit, there are things we need to discuss."

He sat down in one of the seats that faced Ozpin while Miss Goodwitch remained standing at the back of the room.

"As you know we separate students into teams. "he said, "We don't have any team that new a new member, so we think that we should "attach" you to an existing team for the time being."

"Like a commissar.", he said, "They attach themselves to whichever squad they see necessary" he continued as Ozpin nodded.

"Now, there's one thing I need to address before I attach you to a team." He said in a very serious voice.

"Yessir?"

"Your people don't exactly take kindly to things that aren't human." Ozpin continued.

"The Xenos and mutants are impure and no pity.", Estrus replied in a harsh tone.

"There are groups of people on Remnant that have, animal traits. I do believe you would call them abhumans."

Estrus pondered this. Where is the line between mutant and abhumans? He was a mutant but the mutation was minor enough for him to be accepted into a guard academy and most corners of society.

"I request that while you are on Remnant you refrain from killing them on sight. It may lead to some difficult situations."

"Understood, they live for now."

"Do you remember Ruby?"

He stopped and tried to recall where heard it. "She was the one who found me?" Estrus said, more of a question than an answer.

"Correct, and for now, I want you to be an unofficial part of team RWBY. As for classes I still want you to attend."

He paused to take a sip of his coffee.

"While you have proved yourself capable in combat you will still find the other classes useful. In combat classes maybe teach the others something"

"Understood sir."

"Before you attend your first class and meet your new team, take some time to patch your leg up.", He said in a sincere voice. "Glynda will take you to class after your done."

He stood up and saluted Ozpin before leaving.

————

He sat down on the bed and swung his injured leg up as well. He took the med-pack and prepared the various instruments. He injected another dose of stimm in case the previous one wore off while he was working.

He carefully took off the splint, trying not to move the bone.

Next, he unwound the bloody bandage. It had mostly stopped the bleeding although some of it had leaked out from the bandage. There was probably little trickles of blood on the floor. He didn't envy whoever had to clean it up.

The bloody bandage was thrown in the bin and Estrus to a good look at the wound. It had been quite a clean break. If the bone had splintered the job would have been much harder.

He pushed the bone into the proper position and then joined them with a resin paste.

He proceeded to head a scalpel to cauterize the wound. He pressed it against the wound. Flesh sizzled and bubbled but the talk was completed and the bleeding stopped.

Next, he doused the whole wound in antiseptic and used a bandage to cover the wound. Nobody here wanted to look at his bone or still bubbling flesh. He re-attached the same metal splint to support his leg until the resin dried.

He stood up on the leg. It was completely painless, probably due to the stimm. He would only know if he had done the work properly when the stimm wore off.

"Are you done?" Goodwitch asked from outside the door. She insisted on being outside as to not distract him although Estrus felt it was really because she wasn't too keen on seeing a wound cauterized.

"Yes, the process seems to be successful"

"Then you have a class to attend." She replied.

Estrus opened the door and stepped out. "Yes, ma'am."

————

Everyone in the class was watching. Estrus went and sat on one side of the room trying to separate himself from the others in the room. He dropped his pack and boltgun on the ground beside him.

"Ah… I was told you would be late. I'm professor Port."

Estrus nodded in confirmation but said nothing.

"Let us continue, where was I? Yes, despite his smell of cabbage he was a wise man." He continued telling the most unrealistic story he had ever heard.

There was no death or sacrifice. These people didn't think of martyrdom or sacrifice the same way Imperials did. The stories they told we're the sort of heroes having an epic battle with a monster. Not the dark stories of death, destruction and sacrifice that the people of the Imperium told.

"...and the moral of the story. A true. Huntsman must be honourable. Dependable." He continued," A true huntsman must strategic, well-educated and wise."

He paused for emphasis.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits."

"I do sir." yelled Weiss, clearly angry at something.

This would be useful, he thought to himself. A chance to assess the combat capability of one of his new teammates. He watched intently and was disappointed.

Weiss was quite competent with her sword against the Grimm, but her cooperation was non-existent. Ruby kept yelling out order or, at the very least pointers but Weiss ignored them and got angry at her.

He had hoped for the draconian discipline and organization of the guard but was left with a group of people, who seemed to get on well except for Weiss who wanted to kill ruby for whatever reason.

Eventually, Weiss killed the Grimm with a well-placed blow to its stomach killing it.

"Bravo, bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training." Port boomed as Weiss shot ruby a venomous glance.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have today. Be sure to cover your assigned readings, and… Stay vigilant!" This was possibly the only piece of advice Estrus took from this class, after all a suspicious mind is a healthy one.

"Class dismissed" Professor Port continued and Weiss stormed out of the class.

"Sheesh, what's wrong with her?" Someone further along the row asked. A good question, he thought to himself as he watched Ruby speed out after her.

He put his arms through the loops on his backpack and put the strap of his boltgun over his right shoulder and joined the other members of the class in leaving.

"Hey there." Said Yang giving him a punch on the shoulder pad. She looked at the mask that covered Estrus's face, betraying no emotion. "So… You're part of the team now?" She asked awkwardly asked.

"For the time being it seems that way."

"What happened to your leg." Asked Blake who decided to join in the conversation. Estrus looked down, the bandage was clean but a trail of crusty, dry blood led down his fatigues.

"Broke it one when I landed." He said as if it was the most normal thing in the world, to him it was.

"Your aura isn't active?" Blake replied.

"Aura?"

"Manifestation of the soul that acts as a shield. You have an aura, it's just not active." Yang said confidently.

"Faith is my shield" Estrus replied completely seriously.

"What a lot of help that did you." Blake mumbled loud enough for Yang to hear.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, It was nothing!" Yang interrupted covering Blake's mouth. Yang had heard enough from Estrus to tell he wouldn't take kindly to the mocking of his faith.

"Either way, why don't you give aura a go?" Estrus thought about it. If it was a "Manifestation of the soul,'' it wasn't witchcraft, meaning when he finally met the Emperor he wouldn't be a heretic.

"How does one unlock an aura?"

"Pyrrha can help you. She helped Janus so she could do the same for you." Estrus paused for a second and was about to say something when Ruby walked around the corner.

"Oh, Uh, Hi?" Ruby said awkwardly, remembering the words exchanged during their previous meet. "So what are you doing?"

He was about to answer when Yang decided to do it for him, "We were going to see if Pyrrha can unlock his arua."

———

So there Estrus found himself, sitting on a chair facing a red-haired girl wherein the same uniform as Ruby and Yang.

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" Pyrrha asked Ruby.

"Definitely" She replied. The fact that Yang and Ruby were taking cover behind a table like a bomb was about to go off, didn't support this answer.

"I need you to take off your helmet." Estrus reluctantly complied and placed the helmet on his lap.

"Now concentrate." Pyrrha said and Estrus shut his eyes, he decided to concentrate on the colour blue.

She touched the side of his head and said something to quietly to hear. Although Estrus couldn't see it, she began to glow.

The glowing stopped and Pyrrha to her hand of his head. "Done."

Estrus looked up to see Ruby and Yang stepping out from behind the table. He didn't feel any different.

"Now, lets see if it worked!" Yang said. Before he could protest Yang hit him full force in the face. Estrus went down holding his now bleeding nose. He lost consciousness as he hit the floor.

Ruby and Pyrrha went white with shock.

"Uhh… I don't think it worked." Yang said sheepishly as blood started pooling around Estrus's face.


	3. A new team

I'm sorry, due to technical difficulties this chapter took a lot longer than originally intended.

Special thanks to PotatoGod69, I intend on taking your advice it helped a lot.

Any reviews (even angry, strongly worded) are welcome.

As always RWBY and 40K belong to there respective owners (RoosterTeeth and Games workshop)

————

His head hurt like hell. He found he was lying on the floor, completely drenched and freezing. His vision was blurred and his nose was bleeding. He pinched his nose to try and stop it.

"You dead?" Yang asked.

Ruby, Yang and Pyrrha were all gathered around him. Ruby was holding an empty bucket over his head.

"What in damnation happened?" He said, trying to get to his feet.

"Well, we tried to unlock your aura and to test it Yang hit you." Ruby said, "Like, really hard."

Estrus touched his nose carefully, probing for damage still trying to keep it pinched shut. Eventually, he concluded that his nose was unbroken but still bleeding and swollen.

"Good hit, perhaps if I face you in combat you will be a worthy opponent." The words sounding strange due to his blocked nose.

"Thanks?" Yang said scratching the back of her head. When you punch people they generally don't compliment you.

"My guess is it didn't work"

"Pardon?" Said Pyrrha as Estrus found his way to his feet, picking up his helmet on the way up.

"I don't have an aura, do I" Deep down some part of him was relieved.

A "Manifestation of the soul."

The more he repeated it in his head, the more it sounded like the grox shit a heretical cult would say. He was no psyker so this warpshitery wouldn't work for him.

"Does this mean you don't have a soul?" Ruby asked with genuine curiosity.

"My soul belongs to the Emperor and him alone." The statement was returned with mystified looks and he found himself cursing at the local's lack of knowledge.

For all Pyrrha new remnant was the only planet with humans.

"You want to try again?" Pyrrha asked.

"No." He replied firmly indicating that there was no convincing him otherwise.

Ruby looked at Estrus, concern on her face. "Are you sure? We have a combat class tomorrow."

Estrus nodded as he put his helmet on. "If the Emperor has sent me here I doubt he wants me dead yet." Ruby looked back to the two others in hopes of support.

Pyrrha sported a face of confusion while Yang shrugged. She understood that words wouldn't be swayed his opinion anytime soon.

"Well, Ok then."

"Now if you'll excuse me I have armour to attend to. It took quite a beating" Estrus turned sharply and walked out.

The three watched the man clad in metal armour left, his armour plates rattling as they hit each other.

"He's… Strange" Pyrrha said as she mentally when over the events that just transpired. "Why does he wear that mask."

"Because he hides his eyes, apparently he hates his silver eyes and calls them a taint." Ruby answered.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

————

Estrus stepped out of the forge and headed towards his dorm. His armour was now fixed of the holes the Beowulf had made. Now he greedy chomped on one of the corpse ration bars he had as he held his helmet under his arm.

He looked out one of the huge windows of Beacons many hallways. It was coming up 1400 hour. He turned the bend to his dorm to see a note stuck to the door.

"In order to get used to working with your new teammates, you have been moved to the same dorm as them. I appreciate your cooperation. -Ozpin"

Nope, Estrus thought as he tore down the note and waved the scroll in front of the door. It remained locked.

He tried again and grew frustrated. Estrus took a step back and rammed his shoulder into the door. Nothing.

A few students gave him some odd looks as he nursed his shoulder.

Frack. No way was he sharing a room with them. He didn't think poorly of them, they were still unknown factors and quite frankly there Auras still spooked him. Ally's by necessity, he reminded himself.

He carefully considered his options. An idea formed in his head and he checked his bag to look for a very specific item. A smile spread across his face.

He turned and walked down the hallway. He was so happy he thought he was going to whistle. A way to separate himself from the strangers he was paired with and stick a finger to Ozpin.

He made his way to the front of the school and started looking around its grounds. He saw exactly what he was looking for. A small spot up against the wall of the building and between two trees.

He gripped his entrenching tool and started digging.

————

A few students stopped to watch as Estrus dug a foxhole. It was now shoulder height and was wide enough to comfortably fit 2 to 3 people. He got out of the hole and sat down for a break. The students watching promptly left when they realized the action was over.

Estrus sat on the mound of moved dirt and removed his helmet. He grabbed for his canteen and greedily drank it all. He squinted as he looked towards the setting sun.

He softly smiled at the foxhole admiring his handiwork. It was a simple hole in the ground with a chunk taken out of the wall to sleep on.

He decided to use a canvas in his backpack to waterproof the foxhole and keep the rain out. Useful but unnecessary. The next proper step would be to implement wooden shoring to stop the walls crumbling in.

He dropped his backpack into the hole and headed towards the Beacons canteen. Filling his water bottle and filling his stomach where the next priority.

————

The Canteen was relatively empty with just a few students scattered throughout the room.

He picked up a piece of chicken and an unfamiliar long yellow fruit. He made his way to one of the tables that were pressed up against the wall.

He had very little knowledge of the people that inhabited this planet and tried to avoid people he didn't already know.

He started tucking into his meal, enjoying every bite. He wondered, as he started to consume the chicken, how an organization such as a Schola was able to have such nice food and so much of it.

He took a bite bit of the yellow fruit before deciding it wasn't exactly his taste and left it on his plate. Estrus tore the remaining chicken meat off the bone and ate it.

Because he couldn't get his hands on any wood, the next priority was to set up the tarp and any appropriate early warning mechanism. Even though Remnant wasn't a war zone, he didn't want anyone seeking up on him while sleeping.

Unsure with what to do with the used tray, he left it on the table and set off for his foxhole once more, as there was still much work to do.

A minute or two after Estrus left Ruby, Yang and Blake entered the Cafeteria to have some dinner.

"I wonder if Estrus is here?", Yang asked for no-one in particular.

"He was,'' Blake replied.

"How can you tell?"

Blake pointed to an empty table on the other side of the room. On it was a tray with a thoroughly chewed chicken bone and an unpeeled banana with a bite taken out of it.

"Name one person you know who doesn't know how to eat a banana." Blake replied.

————

Estrus peered out of his foxhole. He had used the spare dirt to weigh down the grey and green tarp and made mounds of dirt so the tarp sat just above the hole.

Some landscaping and some "borrowed" plants let the hole blend in quite well with the rest of its surroundings. To someone not looking for it it just looked like a pile of overgrown dirt.

Estrus looked to the sky to see unfamiliar stars, but then again when weren't they? A new planet, a new sky.

He reaches into his bag for Hugo. As a medic, he was allowed a servo-skull to aid him in surgery and first aid. Hugo had been his best friend and putting him down was one of the hardest decisions Estrus had ever made.

He hit the activation button and the machine sparked to life a dull light appearing in its cybernetic eye. Hugo had been equipped with a Vox, surgical tools that looked like they belonged in a dentist and various mechadendrites for small tasks.

"Guard" He firmly told it. It said something in the dialect of the machines and hovered, silently watching. It was a one-way relationship.

Estrus unrolled his sleeping mat and put it on the cavity in the wall. He removed his helmet and placed it on the floor before laying on the bed.

He lay there and was asleep within minutes.

————

"Something on your mind?" Yang asked. She had noticed Ruby sitting on her bed and blankly looking out the window.

"Estrus is supposed to be sharing a dorm with us, " Ruby replied before turning to look at her sister, "And to be honest, he doesn't seem like a person who would have second thoughts about sleeping on the floor."

"No offence to him, but he does act really strange." Ruby continued.

"I'm sure that wherever he's decided to spend the night, he'll be fine." replied Yang.

Ruby was still unsatisfied with the answer and continued to stare out the window. Yang, seeing she probably could change her mind, left her to sit on her bed.

————

So they managed to screw up the honour of combat, but most weren't even paying attention to the fight. They were instead staring at the skull automaton that hovers around him, one of its mechadendrites drooped lazily over his shoulder.

He thought as he watched to boys fight in front of him. They were the only people in the class who wore any armour that looked like it could stop a sword.

Everyone in the class relied more on dodging the hit that taking it and continuing fighting. He for one knew the strategy worked.

His hand dropped down to the left side of his chest cavity. Estrus had gotten a bionic replacement for the parts the fleshborer had chewed through.

So how would they react when they found an opponent they couldn't dodge, he thought silently to himself.

"This is the part where you lose." The larger of the two yelled.

"Over my dead-" He started before taking a knee to the gut. A buzzer sounded signalling the end of the match.

"Time to shine, " Estrus muttered under his breath glancing down at his laspistol, still resting in its holster. The servo-skull beeped a few times as if in agreement.

"Students, as you see, Mr Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and the officials may call the match. Goodwitch said before grilling Jaune on the fact that he wasn't using his "scroll."

Estrus had no intention of taking that advice either. "We have just enough time for one last fight" Goodwitch continued "Any volunteers?"

Estrus stood up attacking a few more stares than the hovering skull already had.

"I have a challenge to issue. I wish to fight the fastest one amongst you."

Some people looked to Ruby as Estrus walked down to the arena, the machine seaming to quiver behind him. Due to her semblance, "Rosewarp" she was by far the quickest of any of them.

She watched Estrus slap a fresh laspack into his pistol while muttering under his breath. Mentally she decided to go easy on him due to his lack of aura although the weapons his skull friend had were slightly intimidating. Her opponent found no such limitations.

Their aura levels appeared on the board. Ruby's was at full while Estrus showed up as an error. "Stay put, " Estrus said and the skull moved off to the side and hovered.

They faced each other as Estrus read a passage from the uplifting primer aloud.

"I offer my life to the Emperor.

I pray that He accepts it.

I offer my Strength to the Emperor.

I pray He redresses it.

I offer my body on the altar of the battlefield.

I pray he grants me a noble death.

I pray for His protection, As I offer all that I am."

"Begin!" Goodwitch yelled an Estrus hastily pocketed the book.

Estrus fired his laspistol twice. Ruby attempted to dodge but found that light was quite a hard thing to dodge.

She realised that Estrus was taking the fight seriously as she felt the combined heat of the two lasbolts on the side of her face. He was going for the head. Her aura protected her but it still stung.

Ruby looked up to the screen to see that about a third of her aura was gone. I can't afford to take another hit like that, she thought as she used rosewarp to try to get close enough to attack with her scythe.

Then the shots she was dreading came. Finding herself yet again unable to dodge the shots, Ruby's aura fell massively to the volley.

Estrus looked up to the screen to see how depleted her aura was and dropped the power setting on his laspistol to the point where it was a stun gun.

This time it was his turn to be taken off guard. He saw the crimson scythe fall come swinging towards him. It tore through his fatigues and cut deep into his leg, knocking him to the ground

"Sorry!" She said, starting at the gruesome cut on his leg.

"Don't…" He coughed, " apologies to the enemy."

He could see Ruby's silver eyes widen as the pistol once again aimed at her. Estrus held town the trigger. The weapon spat out more lasbolts than he cared to count.

Her Aura dropped so quickly that the buzzer of in a matter of seconds.

"End match!" Goodwitch yelled. Estrus found himself find his way to his feet nursing a wound for the third time in two days.

Ruby looked quite stunned. She hadn't expected to lose, definitely not to someone with no aura no. Ruby stared at the laspistol completely forgetting the match she just lost.

The bell rang.

"Class dismissed, " Miss Goodwitch said before turning to Estrus, "Please refrain from bleeding on everything this time."

Estrus tried to a crisp salute with a visible wince of pain. He pulled his fatigues over the wound to try and stem the bleeding.

"Come on!" he said to the skull as he beckoned it. It floated over and took a curious look at his wound only to be waived off. It made what could only be described as a sad beeping noise.

He stumbled down the hallway, too focused on his leg to notice the red girl tailing him. Hugo, on the other hand, noticed but not seeing it as a threat made no attempt to inform Estrus.

He arrived at the front of the school with Ruby in tow still staring at the pistol. He walked over to the foxhole and made his way into his new home.

Ruby was surprised by Estrus's sudden plummet into the ground. As she approached the spot of his disappearance the outline of the tarp became visible.

Ruby bent down to look under the tarp into the hole. Estrus sat there on a bedroll placed on a cavity on the wall. The hovering skull was attending to his legs wound with some needle-like implements. Noticing the sudden change in light level and looked up.

"Welcome to my humble establishment, " He said in a monotone voice as the servo-skull clicked and hummed.

"This is where you spent the night? I thought you would just sleep on the floor. Not sure if this is better or worse." Ruby replied.

"Have you just come to insult my digging skills or is there a reason you're here?" The machine finished stitching Estrus's leg and returned to its rightful place at his shoulder.

She stopped for a second deep in thought. Estrus pulled himself out of the hole and wiped the dirt off his fatigues.

"I do, but first I think you should spend the night with your team." Ruby said.

"But-"

"No buts," She interrupted.

Then the guardsman training kicked in. Technically if they were in a squad or "team" and Ruby led it, it meant that technically she was a Sargent and outranked him.

And when you disobeyed your superiors' orders, you were shot.

Ruby didn't seem like the kind of person who would do this, thank the Emperor. She seemed like the nice Sargent that you could sit down and talk with a bottle of Amasec. Not that he was inviting her to partake in alcohol.

The white one, Weiss, did. Estrus wouldn't be surprised if she had ended up on this world as he had, and she was, in fact, a member of the Officio Prefectus.

"Yes Ma'am, " Estrus said straightening his back and saluting. Ruby was surprised by his sudden change in attitude.

"Now, can I see that gun, " She said pointing to the laspistol, trying to make the most in his change of mind. Estrus pulled the laspistol out and held it out by the barrel so the grip was facing Ruby.

It was still on low power so if she shot someone it would only stun them. Then the questions came.

"What is it? What does it shoot? What does this do? How does it work? Why couldn't I dodge it?"

Estrus though for a second, trying to separate the questions from each other and pair them with an answer.

"An M36 Pattern Laspistol. A highly concentrated beam of light. That changes the fire rate. I don't know, ask a tech priest. Because it's light."

She continues to thoroughly inspect the weapon and accidentally drops the laspack out. The skull dips and retrieves it, slotting it into Estrus's belt

"Please be careful with it, " Estrus says in a strained voice. "The machine spirit is going to hate me after this."

Ruby pays no attention to his concern and continues to fiddle with it. Every prayer left unsaid leaves Estrus more and more uncomfortable. Until he snaps.

"Give it back, right now." he says as calmly as he could manage. "You have absolutely no right to defile that weapon."

Ruby hastily hands back the laspistol, unsure what she had done wrong. The flying machine made a low whine which represented how Ruby felt quite well.

"Can you teach me how to use it?" She asked. Estrus considered the request, she did seem competent enough to use it but she would need to be taught to respect the machine spirit.

Estrus took the uplifting primer from his pocket and handed it to the young girl.

While it was against regulations to not carry your primer, if he was going to show these people the glory of the Emperor, now was a good time to start.

"Read the chapter on laspistol maintenance and repair, as well as the litany of the machine towards the back of the book."

"Is that a yes?"

Estrus nodded. Ruby looked overjoyed.

"But if you break the book, it's off!

"Why?" Ruby queried.

"It is currently the only copy on this planet," Estrus replied.

"Space book," Ruby said. Estrus smiled beneath his mask, he found Ruby to be amusing.

————

At the table they sat at, Nora was sharing a story with the other students while Ren corrected it. Estrus was shooting some worried glances at Weiss. Yang wasn't interested in that.

She was more interested in the development with their new teammate. The skull hovering over his right shoulder was…. Strange to say the least.

"So what you're telling me, is that since about five minutes ago, he's doing exactly what you tell him to the word?" She whispered.

"More or less." The reply was whispered.

"Estrus," Ruby stated. He looked up from the bread he was eating.

"Can I have, say, 10 cookies?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am." He got out of his seat and left towards the food leaving most at the table with a mix of amazement and confusion. He returned to the table with a large plate piled with biscuits.

He placed the plate in front of the red girl save the one he retrieved for himself. As he sat and watched the food disappeared at an alarming rate and the plate was empty within seconds.

Estrus was about to eat his own when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the puppy eyes. She didn't even have to say what she wanted, he already knew. Reluctantly he handed the treat over.

"I think she's going mad with power," Yang whispered to Blake who shrugged. "So, what's with all the skulls? There on your armour, weapon and now robot-skull."

"The skull represents the fact that even in death humans are far superior to anything else in the Galaxy."

"Dark." Yang replied.

"But correct." Estrus countered.

Estrus decides to listen in on the other's conversation to pass the time.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can ask," Pyrrha says.

"Oooooh!" Nora says and gets up, standing on the bench. "We'll break his legs!"

"Who are you referring to?" He asks.

"Cardin." Pyrrha replies.

"Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's just a jerk to me, he's a jerk to everyone."

"Still, I agree that immobilising him would be a…" Estrus started but the words are cut off by Cries of pain. Cardin was tormenting an abhuman with large floppy growths he could only assume where ears.

"Someone should do something about him." Pyrrha says.

"Well, then why don't you all get off your asses, do something and stop waiting for a servant of the emperor, gets sent to your world to help you with a bullying problem!" Estrus declares trying to make it clear it wasn't his problem. "You outnumber him by an acceptable ratio."

Everyone at the table is silent at his suggestion, thinking it over.

"You know what!" Yang finally says. "Let's go beat up Cardin!"

There are a few mumbled agreements of various enthusiasm and everyone gets up and walks over to Cardin and his team. Except for Estrus, Jaune and Ruby.

"I'm not sure what just happened," Ruby said bluntly.

It seems they trust me already, Estrus though the sounds of brawling. He smiled beneath his mask.

————

For some justification as I feel it may be nesseary, I wanted Estrus to think of all Ruby's requests as orders so the plot progresses and he doesn't instantly view them as friends.


End file.
